Entries in Odd
(6)

Let's Pizza(NEW YORK) -- Vending machines aren't just for a bag of chips and soda anymore. A vending machine that makes fresh pizza to order will debut in the U.S. this year after experiencing popularity in Europe.

The Amsterdam-based company A1 Concepts began distributing the machine, created by Italian Claudio Torghel, in Europe three years ago.

For $5.97, the vending machine serves up a 10.5-inch pizza with a choice of margherita, pepperoni, ham or bacon. The dough is made fresh, assembled per order and boxed in about 2 1/2 minutes. Infrared ovens allow the pizza to cook quickly, CEO Ronald Rammers told Pizza Marketplace.

"Each pizza machine is connected to the Internet to control stock. If necessary, besides the standard services, the operator will (re-stock). Each pizza machine contains ingredients for 200 pizzas," said Rammers.

A separate slot in the machine dispenses a pizza cutter and napkins.

How much will a vending machine pizza set you back? One pizza clocks in around 676 calories and 22.6 grams of fat.

Groupon(CHICAGO) -- Attention Chicagoans! Time is running out to get your hands on some personal bedtime service.

Imagine this: For just $100, someone will come to your home, gently tuck you in to bed, deliver you a drink (of water), and even perform for you an original lullaby.

While it may sound fishy, rest assured. The daily deals site Groupon – which is hosting the ad – says this bedtime butler is no slouch; in fact, he comes with 28 years of experience; and they would know. The man at the other end of Groupon’s latest deal is the company’s very own Ben Kobold, one of the site’s writers, according to his LinkedIn page.

“Upon entering your bedroom, Ben Kobold immediately begins to analyze your linen seams and pillow placement, planning a tucking strategy as you enjoy a glass of water he has poured for you,” the Groupon ad reads. “After you hydrate, Ben’s sinewy, well-groomed fingers delicately raise each sheet and blanket over your body until you’re comfortably bundled.

“Careful not to disturb any children who may be in the adjacent room, Ben leans in and uses his summer-breeze-like voice to gently sing you one of the five lullabies he has authored,” the advertisement continues. “Once your body temperature has fallen and your breathing has slowed, Ben and his legally required entourage of two or three companions will slip soundlessly out the front door and into the night. He’ll return to his sleeping barracks, where he’ll tuck himself in and whisper his lullabies to himself.”

The site is known for its daily deals -- so where, you ask, is the deal in this particular offer?

“This is a unique experience created just for Groupon that does not have an original value for us to discount,” a Groupon rep identified as Patrick S. said in response to one user’s inquiry.

So this is all a joke, right? Perhaps a publicity stunt meant to draw laughs as the company's value continues to trend downward? Judge for yourself: “This is the most serious deal that Groupon has ever seriously run in its serious history,” the same rep said in response to another question.

ABC News(JACKSON, Mich.) -- A Michigan teen found a finger tip in an Arby’s roast beef sandwich after he spit out a bite that he said was rubbery and hard to chew.

Ryan Hart, 14, said he ordered the sandwich last Friday at the drive-thru window of at a Jackson, Mich., Arby’s franchise.

“I was like, ‘That [has] to be a finger.’ I was about to puke. … It was just nasty,” Ryan told the Jackson Citizen Patriot.

An employee lost approximately one inch of her finger while operating a meat slicer.

Employees continued to fill orders until they were made aware of the fleshy find.

“Upon learning of the incident, the franchisee’s restaurant team shut down food production and thoroughly cleaned and sanitized the restaurant. The franchisee fully cooperated with the local Health Department, and the restaurant was given the approval to remain open,” said John Gray, vice president of communications at Arby’s, in a statement.

Gray said Arby’s is investigating the event and has been in touch with its 66,000 employees to reinforce safety protocols.

Pizza Hut UK(LONDON) -- If your two favorite foods are hot dogs and pizza, you'll want to get your hands on this new food hybrid. Pizza Hut, the company that first brought us the stuffed crust pizza, has launched a pie stuffed with hot dogs available for delivery in the U.K.

The delivery site describes the pizza as a "succulent hot dog sausage bursting from our famous stuffed crust, with a free mustard drizzle." Only the large, 14-inch-pie is available for delivery.

Although the calorie contents aren't posted, a slice of plain stuffed crust pizza contains about 265 calories with 11.6 grams of fat and a hot dog contains about 170 calories and 15 grams of fat.

Comstock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- A Staten Island mother has sued New York City for $900 trillion for emotional and physical trauma after the Administration for Children’s Services removed her children from her custody and put them in foster care back in 2008.

Fausat Ogunbayo, 46, said she and her boys suffered “over three years of terror, horror, grievous harm, time lost, substantial economic hardship and injuries,” according to court documents.

The children, then 12 and 10, relocated to Queens after their mother lost custody of them, according to the Staten Island Advance. Court papers said the city removed the boys because Ogunbayo was mentally ill and refused treatment.

She reportedly suffered from hallucinations and left her boys at home alone for several hours at a time. The city maintained that ACS received several complaints about Ogunbayo’s alleged mistreatment of her children in 2008. Court documents also show that the mom told doctors her children’s skin was getting darker by the day because of radiation and the FBI was out to get her children.

While mental illness alone cannot cause parents to lose custody of their children, it is unclear whether her mental state was a precipitating factor in the ACS move to take away her boys in the first place.

Ogunbayo did not return ABC News’ request for comment, but the New York City Law Department issued a statement, saying, “We are unable to comment on pending litigation. The amount a plaintiff requests in a lawsuit has no bearing on whether the case has any merit and no relation to actual damages if any.”

The department said they could not share any information regarding Ogunbayo’s mental health. The children remain in ACS custody.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(JERUSALEM) -- An Israeli entrepreneur has legally changed his name to Mark Zuckerberg in order to goad the founder of Facebook and his company into suing, thereby raising his own company's profile.

The man, whose birth name is Rotem Guez, offers a service that sells Facebook "likes," artificially driving traffic to advertisers on Facebook who buy his service. That is a violation of Facebook's terms of service, and the company's lawyers have sent him two cease-and-desist letters.

So Guez, a 32-year-old father of two, walked into Israel's Interior Ministry two weeks ago to have his name officially changed. He now has the ID and passport to match his new identity -- which is identical to that of the founder of the social media giant.

"I just thought it would be funny when they sue Mark Zuckerberg," the newly-minted Zuckerberg told ABC News. "Facebook against Mark Zuckerberg."

"The hope is to grow the company, we like to do funny things," he said. "We're not really afraid of Facebook."

Facebook closed Guez's account after he began selling "likes." In a letter dated December 14 -- posted online by Guez -- it said he "may no longer access the Facebook website or use Facebook's services for any purpose whatsoever."

Facebook's lawyers at the Washington law firm Perkins Cole threaten "whatever measures it believes are necessary to enforce [Facebook's] rights…"

A Facebook spokesperson provided a statement to ABC News: "Protecting the people who use Facebook is a top priority and we will take action against those who violate our terms."

Guez said his name will now technically be Mark Zuckerberg for at least seven years. After that, he wants to change it back.